Auction 65
Lot 49:
Tshuvah MeAhava, response to the letter known as Ketav Yosher Divrei Emet [Pressburg, 1865] written by Lomdei Torah of Pressburg against the book Lev HaIvri by Rabbi Akiva Yosef Schlesinger. First edition – Ungvar, apparently in 1865. 9, [1] leaves. A rare, uncommon item that has never been seen in auctions.
Background: Rabbi Akiva Yosef Schlesinger campaigned against the Neologs; yet, most of his efforts were directed at the neo-Orthodox Jews of Hungary headed by the Gaon Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer and his famed Beit Midrash for rabbis in Berlin. These were considered by Rabbi Akiva Schlesinger more dangerous than any overt reform movement since they brought in the Enlightenment disguised as piety. Rabbi Akiva Yosef, alongside his Gaon father-in-law Rabbi Hillel Lichtenstein of Kolomyia, who was famed for his zealousness, and his Rav Rabbi Chaim Sofer, the Machaneh Chaim, started a campaign against any sign of modernization, be it learning foreign languages or wearing foreign clothes. In 1863, he published his famed book, the Lev HaIvri, in which he lectured on total separation from the non-Jewish world. He called Jews not to change their names, language and clothing, just like the Jews in Egypt, which merited the Exodus from Egypt.
His book, naturally, caused much resentment and in response to it, the Ketav Yosher Divrei Emet was published, attacking the book and its writer. This book, Teshuvah MeAhava, was written in support of Rabbi Akiva Schlesinger.
Rabbi Akiva Yosef Schlesinger (1838-1922) the son of Rabbi Yechiel, a disciple of the Chatam Sofer. He was active in encouraging the building of the Land of Israel and he encouraged the purchase of land for building and agriculture. He was a disciple of the Ketav Sofer, the Maharam Schik, and the Machaneh Chayim. He was the son-in-law of Rabbi Hillel Lichtenstein of Kolomyia, the Maskil El Dal. Like his father-in-law, he attacked modern Orthodoxy in Hungary, and his well-known book, Lev HaIvri, is on this subject. Author of Brit Olam – Ein HaDa’at against the Enlightenment Movement.
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